


oh the whole world it is sleeping (but my world is you)

by IndieBughead



Series: The Bughead Collection of Drabbles [11]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Christmas Dinner, F/M, Setup, also happy birthday cara i love you, and not gonna lie, bughead - Freeform, bughead winter prompts, but not the kind you think, i love archie here, polly finally does something useful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 14:26:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndieBughead/pseuds/IndieBughead
Summary: for the magnificent @thetaoofbetty.from prompt #13: my family invites you to join our holiday meal as an obvious setup and I’m so sorry (with a twist added by me cause imagine alice cooper setting betty up with jughead willingly, snort. and then imagine fp doing the same. double snort.)





	oh the whole world it is sleeping (but my world is you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Smudge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smudge/gifts).



> happpppy birthday, mrs.smudge! or, is it mrs.tao? unknown, but happy birthday nonetheless.
> 
> i hope you enjoy this little thing i wrote for you, and if you don’t, well, you better tell me that you did.
> 
> * 
> 
> title from the paper kites’ [bloom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8inJtTG_DuU).

“Are you  _sure_  I’m not supposed to bring anything to dinner?”

 

Betty rolls her eyes at her own reflection in the vanity mirror—but it’s a gesture that comes accompanied by the soft smile and sparkly eyes that Veronica has teasingly donned as her  _Juggie look_. “My mom specifically asked me to tell you not to bring anything; I think she went grocery shopping for tonight approximately 2 months ago.”

 

Jughead chuckles on the other end of the line, but the loud exhale of breath that he lets out alerts her to his nervousness.

 

“It’s going to be fine, Juggie,” she tells him, not for the first time since her mother announced that she’d like to have him over for an early Christmas dinner.

 

“I know, it’s just—well, this is important to me,” he confesses quietly over what sounds like him rearranging his beanie over his head.

 

Blushing lightly, Betty traces the chain around her neck that holds one of her favorite pictures of them inside its locket, taken by Veronica several months back during a lazy summer evening spent by the river. “It is for me too, Jug. You know how much I —, “she’s saved from confessing her love for him for the first time over the phone when she catches sight of Archie in his room, walking around in a fancy sweater she’s never seen before. “, —Does Archie have a date tonight?”

 

“Wh—” Jughead clears his throat, seemingly still caught by the detail she almost let slip out. “He didn’t say anything to me.”

 

“Hm, weird,” she mumbles, eyes still set on their red-haired best friend in curiosity before she shakes her head, turning back to her reflection on the mirror. Just a swipe of lip gloss and she’s ready to go downstairs. “Anyways, see you in a bit?”

 

***

 

In hindsight, she should’ve known.

 

She meets Jughead mid-driveway just so she can steal a quick kiss (or two) out of her mother’s sight. Distracted as she is by Jughead’s rosy cheeks and the way his gloved fingers have snuck their way inside her coat and are currently caressing her dress-covered back, she doesn’t notice Archie approaching them until he’s right beside them, a bottle of wine cradled in his arms.

 

He clears his throat and shuffles on his feet before announcing, “uh guys, I’m right here.”

 

“No shit, Sherlock,” mutters Jughead, inching away from Betty’s face enough that she can catch his amused smirk. “What are you up to, Arch? Dinner at the Lodge’s? The McCoy’s? Whose is it this week?”

 

Betty stifles a giggle and peers at the label on the bottle. “That looks fancy.”

 

“Uh, thanks, your mom suggested it.  I have no idea how she knew we had it in the cellar—”

 

“ _My mom_?” Betty shrieks out at the same time that Jughead exhales an _, “Unbelievable.”_

 

Archie’s eyes dart between his two best friends quickly, a confused glint to them. “She told me it’d been your idea—”

 

Betty turns to face Jughead, horrified at the way she can see the wires connecting behind his eyes before they dart down to the snow-covered ground, his jaw set in a firm line.

 

“Of course,  _this_  makes more sense than her actually wanting me to come over for dinner,” he mutters sardonically, feet picking up some snow and throwing it up into the air.

 

“Juggie,” Betty laments, inching closer again so she can stroke the back of her gloved hands over his cheeks. “I had no idea, I’m so sorry.”

 

His eyes turn to hers, quickly moving over the rest of her face, looking for something, before he settles them back on hers, nodding curtly in understanding.

 

“Can someone tell me what’s going on?” comes Archie’s voice a few seconds later.

 

“This is a set-up, Arch,” Betty sighs out. “My mom—it’s no secret that she’s not particularly on board with me dating Juggie, and in her messed-up mind, well—she must’ve thought inviting you over and making you seem like the best dinner guest,” she gestures to the bottle of wine,” was going to change my mind.”

 

Archie’s face goes from confused to absolutely amused before he throws his head back and laughs. “That’s ridiculous.”

 

At his best friends’ hard stares, he sobers up. “Wait, you don’t really think…” he trails off, eyes narrowed and looking for confirmation. At Betty’s nod, he shakes his head. “Wow, Betts, your mom really is a piece of fucking work.”

 

Maybe it’s the emotional exhaustion, the way in which Archie enunciates his words like it’s something he’s just discovered, or the fact that it’s the understatement of the year, but it only takes a few seconds of silence before Jughead’s low chuckles, Betty’s airy giggles and Archie’s loud guffaws fill the cold, winter night.

 

“I’m sorry, you guys, I had no clue,” Archie manages to gasp out. “I thought I was just getting a nice Cooper meal with the two of you and your family, Betts.”

 

“No harm done, pal,” Jughead says, extending a hand and patting Archie’s broad shoulder.

 

Just then, Alice Cooper steps out through the Cooper’s front door, eyes narrowed upon Jughead’s form until they settle on Archie’s, the hard-set line of her lips turning into the fakest smile Betty has ever seen on her.

 

“Archibald! So glad you could make it, come on up, you’ll freeze,” she says, waving a perfectly manicured hand in his direction.

 

Archie hesitates for a second, feigning to scratch his ear and winking at Betty and Jughead, muttering a low, " _I've got this_ ," before making his way up to the front door. “Mrs. C, how’s it going?”

 

They follow behind him with bemused faces, their joined hands dangling in the space between them. Alice’s eyes zoom in on the movement just as she’s done taking Archie’s coat, moving to address Betty only. “Elizabeth, did you see the bottle of wine Archibald gifted us? Such a thoughtful young man,” she beams before making a show of checking Jughead’s empty arms, tutting, “Nothing to add to the dinner table, Forsythe?”

 

Betty hears the way in which Jughead’s teeth clench before he visibly forces himself to relax, shaking his head and muttering a sharp, but polite, “No ma’am.” 

 

Even if she knows he knows she had no part in this scheme, she still feels the weight of the guilt settling uncomfortably on her stomach, threatening to spill out. She should’ve known, and she should’ve warned him—

 

He squeezes her fingers in his, quietly offering to take her coat. Her insides melt at the thought of this man besides her, the man she’s come to love after years of friendship, willing to face her mother’s theatrics for her. _I’ll tell him tonight,_  she thinks decidedly before catching her mother’s rather insincere, “Hm, pity.”

 

Polly’s just past the foyer, one hand over her bump and the other holding a plate of frosted cookies. She beams at the group, eyes widening in surprise when Archie engulfs her in a hug and drops a kiss on her cheek, a sly smile on his face.

 

“Polly— gorgeous as always, pregnancy  _really_  suits you,” he says loudly, eyes darting mischievously in between sisters as Betty hides a knowing smirk, Polly flushes lightly but seems to catch on as she twirls a lock of hair in between two fingers and giggles at Archie’s wiggling eyebrows, and Alice tries to mask her glare.

 

As for Jughead, well, he is having a hard time trying to keep his laughter at bay.

 

“Polly, stop being a child and lead our guests into the dining room—Jug- _head,_ I hope you’re familiar with the etiquette of five-course-meal.”

“ _Jesus_ , mom—”

“I’m just saying, Elizabeth, it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t know the difference between—”

 

There’s a clatter, a giggle, and a very loud, “Whoops!” and they all turn just in time to catch the silver plate landing with a pang on the hard-wooden floor, pieces of frosted cookies flying everywhere as Polly feigns shock with a hand over her mouth and Archie-conspiracy written all over his face - chews loudly on what seems to be a gingerbread man’s leg.

 

“What on earth is wrong with—oh  _Polly_ , don’t start now,” Alice shrieks, voice softening to a whine when her eldest daughter begins to sob, muttering about feeling like a whale and not being able to do anything right.

 

“10 bucks says we don’t make it past the second course,” she hears Jughead mutter to her side, the edges of his lips turned upward in what she recognizes as mirth.

 

“20 says we don’t make it to the dinner table, and she kicks Archie out right about…,” she replies under her breath, watching as Archie offers to help Polly up the stairs with a coy smile.

 

“—Archibald, I cannot even begin to understand where your behavior is coming from—”

 

“Hey! It’s not my fault I find pregnant women attractive—”

 

“He looks  _just_  like Jason, doesn’t he, mom?”

 

“…now,” Betty finishes, just in time for Alice to shove an amused Archie out the door with an, “OUT!”

 

She slams the door shut, locks it and turns to face the three of them, finger pointed directly at Jughead. “This. Is. All. Your. Fault!”

 

“Whoa, wait a second—” Jughead starts, taking a deep breath. “You’re the one who invited Archie to screw me over.”

 

“How dare you suggest that I would—”

 

“Oh come on, mom, we all know what you did,” Betty interrupts, rolling her eyes. “You need to stop doing this, ruining my life and thinking I’m better off with someone else. I  _love_  Jughead, and if you think I’m just going to stop because you have unresolved issues with his dad then you have another thing coming.”

 

“I—I—,” Alice sputters, mouth forming voiceless words. “I cannot handle the level of disrespect coming from you tonight, Elizabeth. We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

 

With a final glare in Jughead’s direction, she trots up the stairs with the bottle of Archie’s wine in hand, Polly quick to follow her as she sneaks a thumbs up in their direction and mouths, “ _have fun!”_

 

There’s a beat of silence, one in which Betty think it’s appropriate to sigh loudly and crack a joke about how much money he owes her before inviting Jughead to raid the kitchen and go sit near the fireplace, but her words catch up with her at the same time that Jughead clears his throat and says, “So.”

 

“Will you believe me if I told you I planned on saying that tonight, under much better circumstances?” she strains out, shy smile on her face as she gazes up at him from under her lashes.

 

He seems a little taken aback by her addressing it, but he quickly recovers by pulling her closer to him and placing a finger under his chin, mockingly furrowing his eyebrows. “Sorry, saying what now?”

 

Betty considers playing along for a bit, but she’s reminded of why they’re standing in her foyer by themselves instead of having dinner with her family; she’s reminded of the coldness of her mother’s stare every time she’s ever mentioned Jughead’s name in passing, and she decides that it’s not something she wants to live another second without telling him. “That I love you, Juggie.”

 

His expression softens immediately, finger dropping from his chin to hers in an instant. “I love you too, Betts. So much.”

 

They share a kiss, the multicolored twinkling lights that cover almost every surface of Betty’s house playing like fireworks under their closed eyes. Jughead steps forward, hands flying to hold the sides of her face and making Betty scramble to find a surface in which to lean on, effectively crushing various cookies in the process.

 

They breathe out a laugh and pull away, breaths mingling as they both open their mouths to suggest moving to another room when the sound of keys being placed in the lock snaps them out of their thoughts.

 

(Betty’s thoughts are centered on how to sneak Jughead in and out of her room.)

 

(Jughead’s mainly focused on how to sneak some dinner into Betty’s room.)

 

The door cracks open slowly only to reveal a crouched-down Archie Andrews, black beanie pulled over his head as his eyes dart all over the room before settling on them, a shy expression on his face. “Sorry guys, the kitchen door didn’t budge and I’m hungry.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> ah, it felt good to make polly do something good for once, just saying. 
> 
> as always, drop me a comment if you have the time, and come find me over at @indiebughead on tumblr.
> 
> happy holidays!


End file.
